# Mods, OP, why should Afghanistan discussion be disallowed in the Biden Administration thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 27, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622 "2021-08-27T14:28:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/1 "2021-08-27T14:28:13Z")
Without any explanation our moderator What\_Exit disallowed Afghanistan discussion in the P&E thread, [The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days (title was recently changed to add no Afghanistan)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057). How can there be a discussion of the Biden administration without talking about the tragic recent events of Afghanistan? Disallowing Afghanistan goes against the OP, bolding mine — > [@The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days \[NOT an Afghanistan discussion\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/1): > > Okay, I’m gonna do it. The clusterfuck is over and will be dismantled. What will take its place? > > **What will Biden do? What should he do? What do you want him to do?** > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-first-executive-orders-measures/2020/11/07/9fb9c1d0-210b-11eb-b532-05c751cd5dc2\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-first-executive-orders-measures/2020/11/07/9fb9c1d0-210b-11eb-b532-05c751cd5dc2_story.html) > > > President-elect Joe Biden is planning to quickly sign a series of executive orders after being sworn into office on Jan. 20, immediately forecasting that the country’s politics have shifted and that his presidency will be guided by radically different priorities. > > > > > > He will rejoin the Paris climate accords, according to those close to his campaign and commitments he has made in recent months, and he will reverse President Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. He will repeal the ban on almost all travel from some Muslim-majority countries, and he will reinstate the program allowing “dreamers,” who were brought to the United States illegally as children, to remain in the country, according to people familiar with his plans. > > > > > > Although transitions of power can always include abrupt changes, the shift from Trump to Biden — from one president who sought to undermine established norms and institutions to another who has vowed to restore the established order — will be among the most startling in American history. > > > … > > YES!! 👏🏽 . I celebrated when Biden defeated Trump. I’ve been checking this thread off and on through the months to see what Dopers are saying about the challenges Biden has had to deal with since winning last November. I don’t think any other topic has been shut down in the thread. The US had been in Vietnam from 11/1/1955 to 4/30/1975 — that’s 19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day. The US had been in Afghanistan from 10/7/2001 to 8/15/2021 — that’s 19 years, 10 months, 1 week and 1 day. This is the longest war in US history. Afghanistan discussion should return to the thread. Talking about the Biden administration without Afghanistan is like talking about the Nixon administration, or LBJ’s for that matter, without Vietnam. Mods, OP, what say ye? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/2 "2021-08-27T14:39:24Z")
Just curious, did you read my PM to you? So the Op (@ThelmaLou) of the thread in question asked that the Afghanistan hijack of her thread be stopped. There were also multiple flags that came in around the same time with posters attacking each other and not the posts. All on the Afghanistan issues. Additionally, as I linked to in the thread, there were at least 2 other threads on Afghanistan. There are now more. There is no shortage of places to discuss Biden’s job concerning Afghanistan. All of this added up to agreeing to **ThelmaLou’s** request. It seemed reasonable and the thread was getting problematic to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/3 "2021-08-27T14:47:45Z")
**5 current or recent threads to discuss Afghanistan in** , at least one should fit your needs. > [@Let’s fix Afghanistan, what’s your silly theory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-s-fix-afghanistan-what-s-your-silly-theory/949245): > > Every media outlet seems to have had, for days, some form of self declared expert who is there to share what ‘they should have done was…’. It’s getting old already, I think. So here’s MY theory; It occurs to me that things would look very differently, at this point in time, if the foreign forces in country, had decided to train an all female force. Sure it wouldn’t have been easy, but one secret unit and you’d soon have many more. They can hide a lot under those shrouds, after all. They’d be f… > [@Are the men of Afghanistan simply cowards or is it something else?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-men-of-afghanistan-simply-cowards-or-is-it-something-else/946110): > > The rapid surrender of the ANA and police to the Taliban over the last 2-3 months has me convinced that they are cowards. I understand fear of being killed, I’ve done Afghanistan multiple times. With that said I don’t understand the mindset of the fighting-aged men who are literally handing the country over to Taliban, ensuring their wives and daughters will have miserable lives. These aren’t just a bunch of civilian bakers and carpenters who were captured by some hostile force. These are me… > [@To honor and respect 20 yrs of sacrifice by our troops, we must stay in Afghanistan forever!](http://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-honor-and-respect-20-yrs-of-sacrifice-by-our-troops-we-must-stay-in-afghanistan-forever/949308): > > With the withdrawal from Afghanistan, I see a lot of statements by conservatives, military veterans, armchair generals, etc., basically stating that the withdrawal dishonors the servicepeople who fought there for the past 20 years, Yeah, I get it that they would want to chalk this up in the “win” column, but “dishonor”? It’s not like the ref called the game at the last minute just before we were going to score the winning run. Is the intent that we should fight in Afghanistan forever until we… > [@Have we morally failed Afghanistan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-morally-failed-afghanistan/948636): > > Geopolitics and 9/11 vengeance aside, have we failed our own sense of freedom and democracy? We are walking away from a 20 year war, leaving the Afghani’s to the Taliban. The Taliban that stands against everything we as Americans, left or right, hold dear. > [@Afghanistan Today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afghanistan-today/948624): > > It takes something fairly big in world news to make the local news here. They say that the Taliban has captured four provincial capitals and Afghanistan will fall within a few days. I know several brave Canadian soldiers who fought in Kandahar for long periods, and who helped build schools thinking they were establishing stability and democracy. I bet they are having a tough time with this. My questions: Does this issue have a personal connection to anyone? What does it mean, locally and g… ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/4 "2021-08-27T15:06:47Z")
You left out the thread about Trump calling for Biden to resign – it’s all about the Afghanistan situation as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/5 "2021-08-27T15:08:55Z")
Yes @What_Exit I did read it. But you give more info now about the problems. The Biden thread should be about his administration, yes, but posters who attack each other should be warned, as is the norm. Why can’t AFG discussion be included in the Biden thread? Warn, as needed, and disable their account if they continue to not heed. But we should be talking AFG there too. Covid is talked about there, even though there are other covid threads. And a subforum. AFG is not a hijack of the Biden thread. It is exactly what the OP asked for. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/6 "2021-08-27T15:12:21Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > It is exactly what the OP asked for Not according to the OP, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/7 "2021-08-27T15:26:53Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes @What_Exit I did read it. But you give more info now about the problems. The Biden thread should be about his administration, yes, but posters who attack each other should be warned, as is the norm. Well, I think I did mention, I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. It was easier to write out a full reply here when I was fully awake. Mostly it boiled down to the Op made a reasonable request and there was no shortage of places to talk about Afghanistan. Apparently at least 6 currently. The chaos in the thread added to my judgement call. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/8 "2021-08-27T15:50:25Z")
Why don’t threads asking for opinions about music go in IMHO? Why don’t factual questions about COVID go in GQ? Even though such questions technically fit the general description of those forums, there are more specific forums for them. Same thing with Afghanistan and the Biden thread. Afghanistan discussion is certainly related to Biden’s administration. But if all the Afghanistan discussion is going in the general Biden admin thread, it will swamp every other topic and effectively mean there’s not a good place to discuss anything else. That was already happening, which is why the OP requested a change. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/9 "2021-08-27T16:37:20Z")
OP here. I’m fine with @What_Exit’s handling of this. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/10 "2021-08-27T17:25:11Z")
Maybe you should change the thread title to Only the Good Stuff in Biden’s first 1,500 Days. Like it or not, what’s going down in Afghanistan now is going to be a big part of the history of the Biden administration. Especially now with the bombings and Biden’s speech about tracking down the bombers. Since they are located in Afghanistan, it looks like our presence there is now extended, even if it is only drone warfare. There were umpteen Trump threads over the last four years, most of them talking about the same things at the same time and I don’t recall any of them needing special protection. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/11 "2021-08-27T17:28:31Z")
Aye!!! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/12 "2021-08-27T17:41:45Z")
I think Afghanistan discussion should have been allowed in the Biden thread as long as it was _ **specific to Biden** _ - not a discussion of casualties, ISIS-K, etc. in general, but specifically, about Biden’s actions, Biden’s upcoming strategy, Biden’s speeches addressing the issue, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/13 "2021-08-27T19:15:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think Afghanistan discussion should have been allowed in the Biden thread as long as it was _ **specific to Biden** _ - not a discussion of casualties, ISIS-K, etc. in general, but specifically, about Biden’s actions, Biden’s upcoming strategy, Biden’s speeches addressing the issue, etc 100% agree - in theory. In practice there’s no way that this border would be respected ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/14 "2021-08-27T20:43:57Z")
Perhaps that thread should have been narrowed to: The Biden Administration: Domestic Policy in the First 1500 Days With foreign policy in different threads. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/15 "2021-08-27T21:34:43Z")
Maybe the solution is to merge some of the Afghan threads into the political threads, provided that they’re not Pit threads. I’m with @Bullitt - Afghanistan is a big issue, and it’s a big issue for Biden’s presidency. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/16 "2021-08-27T22:47:04Z")
I don’t see how a discussion about Afghanistan would be considered a hijack in a thread about Biden’s first 1500 days. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/17 "2021-08-27T22:54:04Z")
Really, the thread should be changed to 1461 days. Maybe 1460, since it runs noon to noon. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/18 "2021-08-28T03:32:39Z")
It’s not about only showing the good stuff. It’s about how sometimes a single aspect can take over a thread. I definitely prefer that sort of thing being moved to a spinoff thread, unless there’s nothing else to talk about. I wouldn’t get too upset if things specifically about Biden’s administration were in that thread, but I do see the logic of having it in a different thread, if it was not what the OP made the thread to discuss. I would have no problem if the thread title were changed to “Biden’s 1500 days [Domestic policy]”, and a new thread made about Biden’s foreign policy, with the relevant comment moved over. Would that satisfy others? ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/19 "2021-08-28T03:55:10Z")
I’m fine with this mod decision. Better to confine the Afghanistan discussion to the 5+ other threads where Afghanistan was the central intended subject from the beginning. It’s hard enough to keep up with all those other threads as it is - had the discussion been allowed in the Biden thread, the volume of posts and their singular focus would quickly overwhelm that thread and drown out what I feel is a well-paced and informative dialogue covering diverse areas of government/policymaking. In a way, I find this scenario not dissimilar to when COVID topics began taking over the board in early 2020, and then the mods cordoned them off to a new separate forum, a move that improved the readability of the other forums immensely. > [@BigT](#): > > I would have no problem if the thread title were changed to “Biden’s 1500 days [Domestic policy]”, and a new thread made about Biden’s foreign policy, with the relevant comment moved over. Would that satisfy others? Sounds good to me. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622/20 "2021-08-28T04:26:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > Yes @What_Exit I did read it. But you give more info now about the problems. The Biden thread should be about his administration, yes, but posters who attack each other should be warned, as is the norm. > > Well, I think I did mention, I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. It was easier to write out a full reply here when I was fully awake. > > Mostly it boiled down to the Op made a reasonable request and there was no shortage of places to talk about Afghanistan. Apparently at least 6 currently. The chaos in the thread added to my judgement call. I’m back home from work now. It was a long day. Yes you did mention coffee, and I did too. It was early, around 0430 Pacific. Okay, you made a judgment call, and I disagreed. But, okay, I can live with it. We’ll agree to disagree. No problem and thanks again for explaining (without, and with coffee!). > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > OP here. I’m fine with @What_Exit’s handling of this. Okay, thank you. It’s a good thread, thanks for starting it back then. It is a good thing! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mods-op-why-should-afghanistan-discussion-be-disallowed-in-the-biden-administration-thread/949622.md?page=2)